��«Ӱҵ

Helen Shaw - Workshop facilitator

By the time disabled Postgraduate Researchers have started their doctoral studies, they have often accessed support and developed a wide range of coping strategies that have helped them in their academic journey.

The postgraduate research experience requires a very different support and coping package.

The loneliness of the PGR experience has been well-documented. Being part of an understanding, empathetic and non-judgemental community can help to combat this isolation.

The enormous benefit in being part of the PGR Mentoring Group is the opportunity to share experiences and learn about different support available and strategies that are helping other students. 

We aim to invite previous PGR students to each session to share their experiences as a disabled researcher and their stories send a powerful message to current PGRs that they can succeed.

There are many and varied ways that support can be offered. As well as presentations from different support services, ways of operating in different faculties are shared and this often empowers PGRs to become clearer about the support they need and where to go to get it.

As a mentor who attends this group, every session expands my knowledge of where and who I can call on to support the students I am working with.

Fiona McBride - PGR student

I'm Fiona, a second-year PhD student researching transport systems and a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) for first- and second-year engineering students.

One of my most recent GTA roles was as a facilitator for groups of students from across the Faculty of Engineering participating in a week-long design project. This year, I tried to focus on making my teaching and group supervision as accessible as possible. 

The value of Learning Support Plans (LSPs)

The week before the projects started, I accessed LSPs for the students in my groups. When, how and who to discuss disability-related information with is often discussed in the DDSS PGR sessions.

Many people (me included) find the idea of raising it with supervisors or teaching staff painfully intimidating –  limiting our ability to clarify anything on there or ask for specific help or resources.

In almost five years of being a DDSS service user, only one person has asked me about my LSP. While I found the conversation uncomfortable to begin with, it did mean I requested access requirements that I normally wouldn’t have.

I decided to meet this issue head-on and email all my students with LSPs to let them know I’d read the document and invite them to ask for any other help or access requirements. By doing this as an email, they could ignore it if they wanted to.

I also put a little cat picture at the end, because an email about your disability can be quite intimidating.

Some of the LSPs emphasised letting students know what to expect at least 24 hours in advance. As I was writing a summary of the project week (seminars, group sessions, presentations, deadlines etc), I realised that students without LSPs might well find it useful too.

This rapidly turned into me emailing all my groups at the end of each day to remind them of key tasks and timings for the next day. It’s really hard to tell how many found this useful, but I didn’t get questions about deadlines or scheduling like I have on similar teaching assignments.

Providing opportunities for questions

I also tried to give my students a range of different opportunities to ask questions. The “drink and cake” time at DDSS sessions gives me some space to think about what’s been discussed in the main session and formulate that into questions.

In other contexts, I often don’t think of questions until after the event has finished. I deliberately put in time to ask questions after breaks as well as during and after teaching, and in smaller group settings as well as a full classroom.

When someone asked a question that I thought might be relevant to others in the room, I shared the information with other groups without naming the questioner. When students asked me questions I couldn’t answer, I gave them information and options to help them to make their own decision.

Towards the end of the week, students were more willing to ask me to give feedback on elements of their work and double-check decisions they’d made independently.

Learning what works

It’s really hard to tell exactly what works and what doesn’t, when it comes to making a learning environment more inclusive. Many of my first- and second-year students don’t yet know what helps them learn well in a University context.

The DDSS mentoring sessions have helped me to understand what’s helpful for myself and for others, so I hope I’ve been able to pass some of that on to my students.

Zaisheng Wang - International PGR student

As a postgraduate student from China, I have deeply explored the mental health issues faced by Chinese international students in UK universities, particularly focusing on their awareness and utilisation of mental health and wellbeing services.

A particularly striking discovery throughout my research journey was the limited awareness many Chinese students who have experienced mental health difficulties have of the Disability and Dyslexia Support Service (DDSS). Conversely, those who had used the DDSS agreed they got highly supported.

International students and disability support

In conversations with peers, I found that, as international students, there is a general lack of knowledge about the various university services.

Often, they felt confused about the counselling services with wellbeing services, let alone had awareness of DDSS. This lack of information undoubtedly compounds the challenges they face in navigating mental health issues while abroad.

For students grappling with long-term mental health issues, DDSS offers a Learning Support Plan (LSP), which is shared with the student's department.

This plan communicates the student's specific needs to their department, ensuring their academic rights are protected and significantly reducing the risk of unfair treatment during their studies. According to the students I interviewed, having an LSP made them feel safe.

Yellow Stickers

Moreover, DDSS's play a crucial role in supporting students throughout their academic journey.

As mentioned earlier, the difficulty international students face in seeking help due to a lack of understanding of university services can impact their examination performance. The Yellow Stickers promote constructive and positive feedback.

Unfortunately, some students were unable to utilise these stickers for various reasons, sometimes due to their particular circumstances affecting their executive functioning.

DDSS awareness and accessibility for international students

In conclusion, within the scope of my interviews, Chinese international students who had used the University of ��«Ӱҵ's DDSS services generally found them to be substantially beneficial to their academic performance and mental health.

However, the number of international students aware of and utilising DDSS services remains relatively low. This highlights an urgent need to improve awareness and accessibility of these services, ensuring more students can benefit.

It is important to raise awareness about mental health services, particularly DDSS, encouraging more international students to seek effective and adequate support when facing difficulties.

The importance of mental health cannot be overstated, and appropriate support services are vital in facing challenges and maintaining mental wellbeing together.